14 Things to See at EDS 2014

Electronic component manufacturers and distributors met at EDS early this month for their annual Las Vegas bash. Unlike most tradeshows, the bulk of the action at EDS happens in hotel suites where manufacturers and distributors plan the coming year’s marketing of new and existing products.

We managed to get into a few of those rooms and found the health of the components industry is strong. Emerging technology and a growing economy undergird a proliferation of new products. The critical words at this year’s EDS were energy efficiency, miniaturization, and ruggedness (the code word for a booming energy industry). Here’s a brief sampling of components introduced at EDS.

Click on the image below to start the slideshow.

The Harting Han-Yellock 10 connector lineup was designed to add a new, smaller size. This line of modular industrial connectors can fit both rectangular and circular panel cut-outs, allowing direct replacement of circular connectors with a panel cut-out diameter between 28 mm and 30 mm. It joins the Han-Yellock sizes 30 and 60, and comes with either cable glands M20 or M25, top or angled entry. The Han-Yellock line’s internal-latched locking/unlocking mechanism for extremely fast field connections has been incorporated into the Han-Yellock10.

I suppose you're correct in calling it indirect marketing, fdos. That doesn't bother me, per se, but it seems like a foreign concept to me. Usually, I walk around at trade shows and handle the products. I'm accustomed to the direct supplier-engineer relationship.

EDS is a different kind of trade show -- it's more about forging partnerships than selling products. It takes a bit of hustle to get into the suites and find out what's coming down the pike in terms of products. Nice work, Rob.

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